RISMEDIA, March 9, 2011—(MCT)—Now that virtually all the winter's snow has melted (in some areas of the country) and it's easier to navigate the streets, let's consider something calculated to get people slamming on the brakes: curb appeal, that special something that makes prospective buyers stop for a better look at a house for sale. In normal market times, the National Association of REALTORS®, 49% of buying decisions are based on curb appeal. While we begin to understand and work through the “new normal,” curb appeal is still of major importance, especially with so many homes for sale.

RISMEDIA, March 8, 2011—Housing recovery may seem like a mirage in the desert of record foreclosures and steep unemployment, but history indicates that a more balanced market is in our future. Real estate has always been and always will be cyclical. Recent numbers—namely gains in existing- and new-home sales, increasing activity among investors, upticks in housing starts and ongoing efforts to streamline short sales—offer a much-needed reminder that this downturn, too, shall pass.

RISMEDIA, March 4, 2011—The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury released the February 2011 edition of the Obama Administration's Housing Scorecard. The latest housing figures show increased existing home sales as home affordability remains high, but officials caution that the market remains fragile, as prices are unsettled.

RISMEDIA, March 4, 2011—The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is awarding $7.8 million in grants to 14 local projects in nine states to conduct a wide range of activities such as research on the cost effectiveness of home-based interventions for children with asthma

RISMEDIA, March 3, 2011—Everyone knows that The Great Recession has taken its toll on the housing market. Foreclosures have been at historical highs and we have all heard the personal and devastating stories of displaced homeowners. But there is a corollary in the rental market that gets less attention: Job loss and financial devastation don’t discriminate and renters have been severely impacted by the economic downturn, too. This has led to shifts in renter behavior as well as the delicate supply-demand balance in the rental market.

RISMEDIA, March 3, 2011—(MCT)—Inside many of us lurks a pack rat—at least a little one, anyway. Even inside Deniece Schofield. Schofield is a nationally known organizing expert who teaches people how to get their clutter under control through her books, magazine articles, TV

RISMEDIA, March 2, 2011—This week’s headlines from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® include: updated 2011 Code of Ethics products are now available; $50 off an AHS® Home Warranty FlexPlan®; and Good Neighbor Awards are now accepting applications.

RISMEDIA, March 2, 2011—Pending home sales eased moderately in January 2011for the second straight month, but remain 20.6% above the cyclical low last June, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator,

RISMEDIA, March 2, 2011—Throughout the month of March, consumers across the country can engage REALTORS®, local officials and their neighbors on an issue that literally hits close to home—homeownership—as the National Association of REALTORS® kicks off a month-long

RISMEDIA, March 1, 2011—Fannie Mae's latest national housing survey finds that Americans are more confident about the stability of home prices than they were at the beginning of 2010, even though they lack confidence in the

RISMEDIA, February 28, 2011—(MCT)—Sales of new U.S. homes fell in January 2011, almost completely retracing the strong gain seen in December, the Commerce Department recently estimated. Sales dropped 12.6% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 284,000. Economists had been expecting a pace of 300,000. For December, sales were up a revised 15.7% to a 325,000 level, compared with the previous estimate of a 17.5% rise to 329,000.

RISMEDIA, February 25, 2011—(MCT)—Homeowners who put off renovations during the recession are thinking about spending money on their properties again. Take Barbara Moreno and Robert Ptaszynski of Washington Township, N.J., who delayed plans to add a second story to their ranch house when the recession hit their industries—automobiles and title insurance—hard.

RISMEDIA, February 25, 2011—Florida's existing home and existing condo sales rose in January 2011, according to the latest housing data released by Florida REALTORS®. According to the data, existing home sales increased 14% last month with a total of 12,151 homes sold

RISMEDIA, February 24, 2011—RealtyTrac, a leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, released its Year-End and Q4 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report, which shows that foreclosure homes accounted for nearly 26% of all U.S. residential sales during the year, down from

RISMEDIA, February 24, 2011—The uptrend in existing-home sales continues, with January 2011 sales rising for the third consecutive month with a pace that is now above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 2.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.36 million in January from a downwardly revised 5.22 million in December, and are 5.3% above the 5.09 million level in January 2010. This is the first time in seven months that sales activity was higher than a year earlier.